Murder of Curtis Lemansky
The murder of Curtis Lemansky marked the beginning of the end for the Strike Team. They soon began spiraling toward their eventual demise. Season Four While trying to locate the body of a dead CI named Angie Stubbs, Lem stole a brick of heroin from Salvadoran drug dealer Pittario and warned him that he would only give it back once he located the body. After finding the body and returning the heroin, Lemansky was told that he had returned a fake substance. In the final of Season 4, it is revealed that IAD found the heroin in Lem's car and switched it with the fake. Season Five (Death of Lem) IAD used the heroin as leverage in order to ensure that he cooperated with Vic. Lem refused and eventually decided to plead to a lesser charge, thus removing any risk to the team. However, he was soon forced to run after realizing that incarceration would lead to his death at the hands of Antwon Mitchell. Kavanaugh convinced the Strike Team that Lem had turned on them, hoping that they would rush to confront him and allow IAD to follow them and then arrest them for harboring a fugitive. However, the Strike Team split up and Kavanaugh and his associate could only follow Ronnie and Vic. Shane reached Lem first and tried to convince him to escape to Mexico. However, Lem refused and argued that being isolated from his friends and the world would be a lot worser that being in prison. Left with no other choice, Shane changes the topic and metions that Mara was pregnant with their second child. Lem enters his car and Shane gives him a sandwich. While Lem is eating, Shane carefully drops a grenade in Lem's car. Shane then distances himself as the grenade blows, seemingly killing Lem. However, as the smoke cleares away, Shane approaches the car and sees Lem, who is still alive and manages to see Shane breaking down in tears, regretting what he has done but insisting that he had to do it, before dying. Soon, the police swarm the area, with Vic and Ronnie also appearing. Enraged and saddened by his friend's death, Vic briefly fights with Kavanaugh (who believed Vic killed Lem) and swears to find and kill Lem's killer. Season Six To Shane's horror, Lem never had any intention of ratting out on the Strike Team. As a result, Shane's justification for Lem's murder was stripped away and he was consumed with guilt for killing Lem. Out of guilt, Shane was going to commit suicide at the Barn but was interrupted by Officer Danny Sofer. Vic was determined to find Lem's killer and was certain that Salvadorian drug lord Guardo Lima was responsible for Lem's murder as the Salvadorians had recently began killing their victims with grenades and that the Strike Team before had put an end to some of Lima's operations. Knowing that Lima wasn't involved in Lem's murder, Shane tried to dissuade Vic from his pursuit of Lima. Shane's pleas were ignored, however as Vic lured Guardo out of hiding by kidnapping Guardo's girlfriend, kidnapped Guardo himself from his safe house and took Guardo to a secluded area. There, Vic proceeded to brutally beat Guardo with chains and finished him off with a bullet to the head as "revenge" for Lem's death. Eventually, Vic finds out the truth about Lem's murder after reaching to a conclusion that neither Guardo nor Antwon Mitchell could have been involved in Lem's murder. Vic read a dossier on Lem's murder put together by Kavanaugh, revealing that, contrary to his earlier claims, Shane was not followed the night Lem died, which gives Vic ample evidence, motive, and a time frame to accuse Shane of the killing. Vic called Shane out at the same location where Lem was killed. After Vic angrily confronts Shane about the new information, Shane confesses to his crime, attempting to rationalize it while also speaking of his shame and remorse and arrogantly tries to excuse himself by comparing his actions to how Vic killed Terry Crowley. But an angry Vic rejects that excuse, saying that Lem was still loyal to the team, while Crowley was a traitor. Vic then told Shane that he would kill him the next time he sees him. Shane drove away, but not without calling Vic a hypocrite. Knowing that Vic will try to murder him as revenge for Lem, Shane takes several measures to ensure his survival, beginning with a detailed description of the past crimes of the Strike Team, including names and photos, and threatened to make it public if Vic acted against him. Season Seven Shane eventually returned to the Barn and began solving crimes like he used to. However, while he was with Rezian during a drug meeting, he was ambushed by hitmen, who were sent by Vic to kill everybody at the meeting, including Shane as revenge for Lem's murder. The hit failed, however as the hitmen only managed to kill Rezian and his henchmen. Shane vowed revenge and blackmailed and hired a convict to kill Ronnie (Ronnie had assaulted the convict), while Shane waited inside Vic's house to murder him. After the failed attempt on Ronnie's life, Vic was notified as to what happened and spared his own life by never entering his house. After the convict revealed the plot to kill Ronnie to Dutch and Claudette, Shane, Mara and Jackson began to run and became fugitives in the state. They were nearly killed twice and were in desperate need of money to escape the country. Shane tried getting money for the family by robbing a few poker buddies, but they turned on him and got into a fight with Shane. Mara inadvertently killed a woman and herself got injured, while trying to save Shane. A desperate Shane tried to do anything he could so that Mara may not be sent to prison and Jackson may not be sent to a foster home, however his attempts are unsuccessful. After a phone conversation with Shane's lawyer, who said that it is inevidable for Shane and Mara to be sent to prison, a desperate Shane then phoned Vic and asked him for help or else he would tell everyone about all the crimes they committed. Vic, however, in turn sadistically taunted and mocked Shane, even telling him that he has striked a deal for immunity with ICE, that he will be free while Shane will be in prison with Antwon Mitchell and even says that he would regularly visit Shane and Mara's children, buy them ice-cream and tell them about the crimes their parents committed. Vic then abruptly hanged up the phone. After stopping by at a store, Shane poisoned Mara and Jackson with painkilles at their home and then shot himself in the head, committing suicide. Lem's death is finally avenged. Category:Cases Category:Crimes Category:Pages needing attention